Pages

Monday, May 28, 2012

What is the Genealogical Community?

I was just catching up with my email and read a post on the APG membership list from a 20-something genealogist who wanted to know where the conversations were taking place about encouraging young genealogists like her.

Likewise, the genealogical community loves to talk about blogs and bloggers and their role in the community. The perception, I believe, is that bloggers carry great cred within the online community. I present both talks and workshops about blogging. The irony of this is that most people in my talks or workshops don't regularly read blogs. I usually use Dick Eastman of Eastman's Online Newsletter and Randy Seaver of GeneaMusings as my test cases. Most participants have heard of Dick Eastman but not of Randy Seaver. If someone hasn't heard of Randy Seaver then they really aren't acquainted with blogging. That suggests to me that is a great disconnect about what is the genealogical community.

The "community" I believe is that bunch of us that get online on the APG or TGF lists or on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and prattle away about genealogy. When "we" are talking about the "community" that is who "we" are referring too.

But from my experience as a speaker, I know that the definition of the genealogical community is much greater than that. There are many active genealogists who participate in their local societies but don't participate in "our community" online. Does that mean they are not part of the genealogical community? Or are they part of a different community?

And then there are folks like my uncle and Dad, who use Ancestry.com and actively do research but don't engage with any society. They operate completely on their own or only with other family members. Perhaps in their searches online they bump into information by bloggers but rarely do they engage blogs on a regular basis.

So if we are going to be honest, what exactly is the genealogical community? Is it the folks who are trying to define the community, is it the broad group of society members or the even broader group of lone mavericks out to discover their family history?

I do think there are different groups within the genealogical community. When speaking to friends and family in person, I refer often to the "online" genealogical community. That is where I usually find myself, as I rarely visit societies in person.

I, too, read the post from the 20-something genealogist and readily agreed with her assessments regarding the age disconnect. I am now in my late thirties and have in the past come up against dismissive behavior from some older individuals.

I also think it is sometimes difficult for younger people to attend conferences and engage in local societies because of time constraints. For example, the NGS conference is usually the week leading up to Mother's Day. As a baker, that is a very busy time for me. I will likely not be able to attend that conference until I retire. Even the upcoming FGS conference is out for me because it is leading into Labor Day weekend -- another busy time. That is why I consider myself specifically part of the online genealogical community (though being part of the offline community is also desired).

Stephanie, your points really hit home with me. I've left NGS conferences early to find myself in a packed shuttle van with the other mothers of young children also going home for Mother's Day. FGS, on the other hand, was generally in conflict with my daughter's first week of school. We all know mothers are needed that week, too.

One of my earliest board experiences in a statewide society (not where I live now) encountered just the dismissive attitude you talk about. I just picked up my tent and moved to a different society where I had a lot of fun.

Hi Marion, I'd vote for the broadest definition of community, e.g. from speakers through bloggers, through those plugging away alone, perhaps not yet aware there's other folks who share their interests. From professionals & experts, through those maybe not yet aware of the range of educational opportunities out there, including last year's explosion of free or inexpensive webinars. And I'd even include the "potential members" like the young man in his 20's I sat next to on my flight to RootsTech this year, who's first comment was "isn't it better to let sleeping dogs lie", and may not make any move in years.. but I hope I might have nudged the door open just a bit for him, and someone or something opens it just a bit more, and so on.

(And I was saying above before i got hung in Blogger) ... And just as our genealogy research takes different paths, so does our interests and experiences - forming special interest groups in the community at large, just as in genealogy societies... And sharing those as our time and skills allow, I think is in the best interests of the genealogy or any other community; not everyone is going to be a blogger, or a speaker, but everyone can help someone else, or find something meaningful in their pursuits. I began not knowing there was a community out there, and thank those who opened the door for me, and try to "pay it forward" in appreciation - and because sharing is something I enjoy!

I do not belong any societies or organizations but I have a lot of friends that I have met through Facebook and Google+ and following blogs that do genealogy. So to me that is my genealogical community. We help one another out when we can. And we get to know more about our friends and their families. I do follow Randy Seaver's blog and really enjoy it and also Dick Eastman's free part of his newsletter.

I appreciate you getting my "name" out to the groups that you speak to. I'm not surprised by your findings, since Dick is a New England guy, and has 6 times the traffic that I have.

My experience is that the online genealogy community is a relatively small part of the total genealogy community - perhaps 20% or less. And the folks that do genealogy online or read blogs are a subset of that - perhaps only 3-5% of the total genealogy community.

Randy is spot on. I run the 'British and Irish Genealogy Blog' and have a very small readership - perhaps 200 or so hits a day, which is tiny compared to the potential market. Blogs-wise, I just don't think the vast majority of active genealogists are interested - they are, for the most part, extreme part-time hobbyists.

Marian, I'm glad you've initiated this conversation. After reading your observations, I think that rather than seeing this as a monolithic "community" it more likely resembles a city that is aggregating: a large body loosely comprised of niche groups with sub-interests that all come together under that umbrella of genealogy, but for different reasons. To think that all these disparate people join under one big, happy tent may be pretty unrealistic. It would be better to see it as a series of smaller communities, laced together loosely--more like a network of groups.

I, too, once thought of the genealogy "community" as one group--probably my unspoken assumption oh, about the time I thought it would be a great idea to start a genealogy blog. Finding out about GeneaBloggers and the over TWO THOUSAND others who surely had the same "meme" disabused me of the notion that we are all just one community.

Yes, Marian, the old cliche - "different stokes for different folks" certainly applies here. The above comments speak well to the diversity we have. One thing the online blogging community does, though, is touch, or contact, many different niches within the community. If you were to amalgamate all the blogger comments, I think you might be shocked how wide the reach is. Randy often writes of his work in his local society. Those "rabbits?" who write about gravestones... have a very wide set of contacts. The various professionals are constantly in contact with other professionals who would not go close to, or read, a blog. But there are bloggers who are in personal contact with them... etc., etc. One more viewpoint. Thanks for the conversation! ;-)

I agree with the above comments that there is not one genealogy community, but rather many small communities that overlap and intersect with one another. I am a member of a genealogy society and attend meetings, but am not at all active within the society (whose members are predominantly a lot older than me).

"My" genealogy community is primarily online - twitter, facebook and blogs. However, I have had the chance to meet up with people I initially met online at genealogy events and a small group of us in my area are hoping to meet up in person on a regular basis.

I think this multiplicity of genealogy communities is a good thing and reflects the increasing diversity of those involved in genealogy. Hopefully everyone who wants to be part of a genealogy community can find one that suits them - whether that be through a local society, online forum or through social media.

As this appeal only reaches the online community of blog-reading, US focused genealogists, I still think the diversity of the comments you will be getting is limited. But how will you be able to address a wider genealogy audience? I think it has been discussed before, but a start would be to actively engage local genealogical societies, and to promote and encourage their (and their members') online presence.

Taco (and Marian),I'll play my part to include our genealogical society in the conversation. I'm including a link to this article in the June eNews of the California Genealogical Society. The eNews has included "Links from the Blogosphere" for the last four years. Just because they aren't leaving comments doesn't mean they aren't reading and engaged.

I think there is a distinction between genealogy(ists) and genealogy community. By definition, a community is a group (of any size) who share a commonality. In this instance, genealogy. The community may be part of the online world, part of the society business or just a group of friends who share their newly found discoveries on the phone or over lunch. The genealogists - amateur or professional include those like your dad who engage in their hobby/passion and are quite happy going solo. Their need for affiliation is smaller and so they don't have a genealogy "community" per se. In terms of the blogging world, it really is new to a lot of people who are not as active online (other than to research) and so I usually have a list of who to follow depending on their research interests. Once people catch the bug they are more comfortable about choosing who to follow - like Dick Eastman or Randy Seaver even if these bloggers area of expertise isn't directly related to whatever research the person new to blogging is interested in, but more to the world of genealogy itself.

I belong to the go-it-alone community of one. I am not retired, have an actively growing family and a full time job and just can't break off on Wednesday after lunch to meet with the local community of genealogists. Also, because I have transplanted a couple of times already with another transplant coming in less than two months, my focus remains on my family tree and not really of the general community I am living in at the time. I don't see this changing anytime soon.

I am happy to reach out to various genealogical communities as I do my research and they have been big helps at times. I know they are out there. But the appeal of them to me just doesn't fit my lifestyle yet. When I am retired and make my roots to a community permanent, they I am sure I will join a community of like minded individuals. From what I have seen, this is the prevailing attitude as the communities I have been in touch with have a median age of well into their 70's.

Excellent question to pose, Mariann. For years I was in the go-it-alone community, and now with the "book blog" for my new memoir I'm in the online community of Twitter and links and even Facebook (which seems to keep evolving). Twitter is friendly and fun and full of information. So I think those two communities overlap, like Venn diagrams. Before too long I want to participate in the conference community, when I can fit something in. I'll take tips and resources wherever I can find them! All these communities have their parts to play and support to give! Fifty years ago, genealogists were a lonely bunch. I love it that new communities have sprouted and are flourishing!

Such a basic human need - to feel that one "belongs" somewhere, is part of a special group. I've been involved in genealogy research for about 9 years now, and am now retired (one of those almost 70 year olds that predominate some groups). I poke around on the outside of several genealogy groups, belong to several genealogy societies and a handful of surname family associations... all to hopefully assist my genealogy research and conclusions. But I have more passions than genealogy - I am a creative fiction writer, also do non-fiction writing for specific purposes, keep a plentiful organic vegetable garden, follow science results in several specific fields... and have (almost) 6 grandchildren with my 4 children, plus several wonderful friends. Many demands on my time, energy, and passion. Second Life? You must be kidding - I can't squeeze out more learning and new activities. Keeping up with my 100+ genealogy blogs on GoogleReader, plus the 40 on Writing, and 25 on Science, plus listen to podcasts of various topics and check out YouTube genealogy videos - that is absolutely plenty for now! Whew! Our genealogy community is more like a big city - with specific neighbourhoods here and there, with uniquely-fascinating places to enjoy. I'm not sure I "belong" in "the" genealogy community - much of this one is extremely USA-based... but I'm definitely part of something-genealogy online & offline, and am content with that. Very interesting topic and comments, Marian. That's why I always check out your blog and tweets. Cheers.

I recently gave a presentation to 50 people in an area far from my State's capital city. A quick survey about online genealogy revealed that only 2% of the attendees had even heard of genealogy blogs, and only one person (the local librarian) uses Twitter. I like Helen's comment about "a 'Genealogy World' with many communities, some overlapping, some not... where communication within and between communities is encouraged and nurtured."

I think the genealogy community includes everyone that does genealogy - whether online, active in societies, or solitary. We all do genealogy so we are all part of that community.

But I think that there are sub groups in the community. Just as there are sub groups for lineage groups (New England researchers, British Isles researchers, Eastern European researchers, American researchers, etc), there are also sub groups for the way we interact with one another: online community, society community, archivist community, solitary community, etc.

No community is better than the other and while we all have slightly different goals, we do have the commonality of trying to find our ancestors and their stories. In the end, that is what brings us together.

I think the genealogy community includes everyone that does genealogy - whether online, active in societies, or solitary. We all do genealogy so we are all part of that community.

But I think that there are sub groups in the community. Just as there are sub groups for lineage groups (New England researchers, British Isles researchers, Eastern European researchers, American researchers, etc), there are also sub groups for the way we interact with one another: online community, society community, archivist community, solitary community, etc.

No community is better than the other and while we all have slightly different goals, we do have the commonality of trying to find our ancestors and their stories. In the end, that is what brings us together.

Thanks for this post Marian. I know it's a little old now but the subject of "the community" has recently been re-opened (yet again) and I was looking for prior discussions. I've only just put together a response of my own at: http://parallax-viewpoint.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/are-we-community.html which you might find interesting. I don't know if you've ever used the phrase "like herding cats" but it always jumps to mind. :-)